PHOTOS: Islanders Staff Holiday Toy Shopping Event

The only line in the Westbury Target on Monday morning was made up of overflowing shopping carts.
Board games, slime, tye-dye kits, Hot Wheels, Lite Brite and plush toys flew off the shevles, as New York Islanders staffers hit the store early, picking out toys that the team will give to kids in local hospitals this holiday season.

The toy shopping event is a longtime Islanders tradition. While the Islanders players, wives and girlfriends are typically the ones who pick out the toys, the COVID-19 pandemic protocols prevented them from doing it in person. That's where the team's community staffers - and Sparky the Dragon - stepped up, ensuring that kids and families going through a tough time, may get a little something extra to help lift their spirits during the holidays.
The toys will be distributed to local hospitals around Long Island and Brooklyn.
See here for photos from Monday's toy shopping event
.